Hanapepe is the Roswell, N.M., of the tropics. A place portrayed as secretly inhabited by dozens of alien beings who have crash-landed on Earth and now call Kauai their home.

At least that is the story in the world of “Lilo & Stitch,” the Disney movie and TV franchise starring a Hawaiian girl named Lilo and the odd, stray “dog” she adopts from the local pound. The puppy, Stitch, is actually an alien experiment on the loose – and soon he brings dozens of his kindred space creatures to live on the Garden Island.

In creating “Lilo & Stitch,” Disney jumbled the geography of Kauai. The craft is shown landing on the lush North Shore, all the better for the many surfing and beach scenes. But when the illustrators wanted to find inspirations for a sleepy town to model Lilo’s home upon, they found it on the opposite side of the island.

“In the small town of Hanapepe, I found all the usual homey details, ranging from rusted-out bridges to homemade mailboxes,” wrote Paul Felix, the film’s production designer, in the official Disney “making of” book on the movie.

The town that inspired the Disney team’s watercolor movie backgrounds has been little changed by its years of cinematic and cartoon fame.

It remains a town that literally has been passed by. Highway 50 loops around the town, speeding visitors between the resorts in Poipu and the road to Waimea Canyon.

Hanapepe retains its pre-World War II look. It feels off the beaten path, a place of clapboard houses with tin roofs, old storefronts with wooden sidewalks and a shuttered movie theater. Dogs lope through town and roosters bob in the crosswalks.

The town’s stores have long ago been turned into artists’ studios, cafes and bookshops. But Hanapepe has none of the strip mall T-shirt shop feel of tourist haunts along the Coconut Coast. Hanapepe is beyond sleepy; it’s practically catatonic in its pace.

Roger and Stephanie Strickland, a former Orange County couple living in Willits, brought their twin daughters, Naomi and Sara, 7.

“They love ‘Lilo & Stitch,'” Roger said. “The two places we try to go as often as possible are Kauai and Disneyland, so there’s a match here.”

Most of the ties to the movie have to be left to your memory and imagination. Yes, “Home of Lilo and Stitch” is painted on the side of the abandoned and decaying Aloha Theater, with its ALOHA neon sign begging for restoration.

But outside of a few posters, there’s no overt attempt to capitalize on the Disney franchise.

Visitors can have a vegetarian lunch at the Hanapepe Cafe. At J.J. Ohana, people can buy necklaces and other jewelry made from shells brought from the nearby island of Niihau.

The big draw, if you can call it that, is the Hanapepe Swinging Bridge. It’s actually a re-creation of the original, which was blown down by Hurricane Iniki in 1992. The bridge of wooden beams and steel cables sways, creaks and moans. There’s not much on the other side, so most visitors simply turn around and come back.

The Talk Story Bookstore at the west side of town is a good place to learn more about Hanapepe. Three store cats – Chada, Celeste and Ciera – snooze in the shelves of the old storefront. Inside, the walls are painted fire engine red. Ed Justus, a transplanted Virginian, runs the place with his wife, Cynthia Powell. There’s a good collection of Hawaiiana books and local art.

“Pierce Brosnan comes in,” Justus said of the former 007. “He’s really tall. He has a place up on the North Shore. He was with his mother. He said he wanted to come back down and play cribbage one night.”

Talk Story also has books on local history, which isn’t always as upbeat as little Lilo’s cartoon hometown. This side of Kauai was dominated by sugar plantations. The last one, Gay & Robinson, closed in 2008 after 119 years.

And locals still talk of the “Hanapepe Massacre.” In September 1924, mostly Filipino immigrant workers had been on strike for 165 days, demanding $2 a dayand limiting the workday to eight hours. The McBryde plantation brought in strikebreakers and, in a showdown with police, 16 strikers were killed.

Before leaving the area, people can circle around on Highway 50 to the Lappert’s Ice Cream factory store, where Kauai’s best cold stuff is made. There are the classic ice cream flavors, along with a few island treats like guava and mango.

If you want to keep the Lilo theme going, visit the Kilauea Lighthouse on the North Shore, which is frequently seen in the movie and TV series. Visit the Hyatt Kauai in Poipu on Tuesdays or Saturdays to see the keiki hula group, much like the one that Lilo belongs to. The children sway to Hawaiian music, and if you have kids, there is a chance to come out and dance with the troupe at the end of the show.

On your way back to the airport in Lihue, you’ll pass the Humane Society. If you stop in and find a strange little blue dog with huge teeth, take it back to Hanapepe. It will feel right at home.

Checklist

GETTING THERE: Hanapepe is just off Highway 50 on the south coast. Look for signs after you pass Eleele. It’s a good side trip if you are visiting the Kauai coffee belt on the south side of the island or going to nearby Port Allen for one of the excursion boats up to the Napali Coast.

Gay & Robinson Sugar Plantation: At the 19-mile marker on Kaumualii Highway, make the turn toward the sea. You’ll end up on what looks like a 1940s suburban street lined with monkeypod trees. These are the remnants of the last sugar plantation town. The small museum at the end of the street was closed when I visited last year.

Salt Pond Beach Park: Though Hanapepe is inland, it is a short drive from one of the better south shore beaches, especially popular with windsurfers.

“Lilo & Stitch – Collected Stories From the Film’s Creators”(Disney Editions, $27.95). Out of print and hard to find, it’s become a collectible title for Disney fans.

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